Is this safe?

[slevin]

So my first time smoking ever went.....ok. I learned a lot.

One of which is thicker pieces go on the top rack. I thought the bottom closer to the element would be hotter but it seems the stuff on the top was dried a lot more. Maybe because it was thinner. I really don't know. How do you guys arrange your shelves?

Sorry got side tracked, back to my topic. How much moisture is unsafe? Some of the pieces are very meaty but I kind of like the texture. I prefer it over dry jerky. I did use #1 cure at a ratio of 1 tsp to 5 lbs, and marinaded it for 24 hrs.

Here's what it looks like

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• slevin
• Dec 29, 2016

Any idea why the piece on the right is a litte fuzzy with a light brown substance?

Thanks for your help!

Shane

 

[daveomak]

Appears to me, uneven heat distribution in your smoker...  or the meat had freezer burn and the light fuzzy  piece had some burn on it...  or it is the way the muscles aligned... 

For a softer jerky texture, add honey or sugar...   both are hygroscopic and hang on to moisture fairly tight...  testing will get you to a recipe you like.. 

For added flavor, when you pull the jerky from the marinade, add stuff like fresh cracked black pepper, brown sugar, maple syrup, garlic or onion powder to the wet surface then dry at 130 ish with no smoke...  when dry, add the smoke until the texture is good...  cool the meat before you try the bend test...  hot meat bends easy....

When building a recipe, weigh the meat...  add a percentage of liquid..  add a percentage of each ingredient...   make it and critique...   sugar/honey counteract the salt... and they hold moisture...    a complex flavor to add to jerky is fish sauce...   don't add much but it has the UMAMI flavor that makes stuff much better..  I use Red Boat 40º and it's pretty darn good...  but try something a little less expensive to see what you think...

Dave

 

[slevin]

I would not be freezer burn. I bought it fresh and it went from fridge to smoker. As far as heat distribution would my mes 30 considered defective or are they all that way? My main concern though is, is the soft stuff still ok to eat?

 

[daveomak]

OH !!!!  the MES 30.... Yes it is terrible for hot and cold spots....  I have one....  

What I did to try and overcome the crappy heat distribution...

The tunnel....   trying to pull heat from the center of the smoke chamber...  Inside the red circle is where a hunk of rebar tie wire goes in and out then up to the exhaust and bent over the divider to hold it in place...  probably the best mod on the MES 30 except for the mail box to hold the AMNPS....

3f61fe8a_exhtunnel1.jpg

• daveomak
• Dec 29, 2016

3f61fe8a_exhtunnel2.jpg

• daveomak
• Dec 29, 2016

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• daveomak
• Dec 29, 2016

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• daveomak
• Dec 29, 2016

 

[daveomak]

Cook the soft stuff longer, until it is dry.....

 

[slevin]

So the tunnel would be about 10 " long? Is it ok to still dry it even though I took it out and put it in the fridge?

Thanks for your help Dave.

 

[daveomak]

Yep...  the fridge kept it cold...  You need to heat it up and dry her down...   it can go in the oven if you want...   smoke is done...  only cooking left now...

 

[slevin]

Say at 170?

 

[chef jimmyj]

Moist jerky is perfectly safe. It is just not shelf or room temp stable and must be refrigerated. Think very well done steak. The fuzzy stuff looks like the coagulated protein in meat juices. The stuff in the pan when you turn the meat before it gets brown...JJ

 

[slevin]

Thanks Chef J! Did I do something wrong to get the fuzzy protein?

 

[chef jimmyj]

May have been wet or meat juices oozed and coagulated. No big deal...JJ